Quick question: I am looking to purchase an ATLAS EQ mount and a small refractor soon (likely the Orion ED80T CF) to expand my new found interest in Astrophotography.

If I buy these items separately, do they usually come with the necessary mounting equipment (tube rings etc), or will these need to be a separate purchase? I don't see on the Orion website any mention of the included hardware with the Atlas mount, so I'm not sure...

I am thinking I may need to go to my local telescope store to purchase as I'll need help figuring out how things connect, but if it's straight forward and 'out of the box' I can order online.

Quick question: I am looking to purchase an ATLAS EQ mount and a small refractor soon (likely the Orion ED80T CF) to expand my new found interest in Astrophotography.

If I buy these items separately, do they usually come with the necessary mounting equipment (tube rings etc), or will these need to be a separate purchase? I don't see on the Orion website any mention of the included hardware with the Atlas mount, so I'm not sure...

I am thinking I may need to go to my local telescope store to purchase as I'll need help figuring out how things connect, but if it's straight forward and 'out of the box' I can order online.

Many thanks!

- Adam

You'll need tube a Vixen format dovetail bracket and tube rings (some smaller telescopes have 1/4-20 mounting brackets that allow you to screw a dovetail onto them without tube rings).

Yes, you'll need to purchase these things if they are not included with the telescope. Scopestuff, ADM, Losmandy, and Orion are some sources.

What I would recommend is for you to call Orion's support line. They should be able to tell you exactly what you will need with the config you have in mind. Orion is good support-wise. Just remember that the Atlas ships with a 13" Vixen dovetail when you talk with them.
There are differing types of mounts and accordingly dovetails to match. As a beginning/intermediate amateur astronomer, the ones I have encountered are the Vixen and Losmandy types. Orion makes a Losmandy head for the Atlas and I will be converting a mount over to it soon to handle an Astro-Tech 8" RC OTA that I bought a few months back.
Just remember that if you ever want to convert your Atlas to the Losmandy style mount, there are two types of Losmandy head for Atlas mounts. One is the pre-2009 type the other is the post-2009 type. Your mount would be post-2009 I assume.